Hi! I am a college junior currently deciding between Aix-en-Provence in southern France and Florence, Italy for my senior fall semester abroad. I know they are very different sizes, as Aix is a smaller town and Florence is a city. I have interests in English Literature and Writing, Education, and Psychology, and I am looking for a more welcoming environment that is not too overwhelming. I would appreciate any input from anyone who has attended any of these places as a student, thanks so much!
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Are you fluent in both Italian and French?
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Don’t know about Aix, but Florence is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, so I already envy you for having that option 
You’ll probably find the food to be better in Italy as well.
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I’ve been to several places in both countries, and I prefer Italy mainly because the people are nicer.
The food is great in both countries, IMO – the French cook with lots of butter and the Italians cook with olive oil/tomato/basil/garlic. Both use a lot of cheese. You won’t starve regardless.
Florence is a wonderful city. I haven’t been to Aix.
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Two beautiful areas so no bad options here. I happen to love Florence and I imagine it might be easier to arrange to travel to other cities from there (you can do some research on that) which would be a positive.
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I knew a bunch of kids who did a program in Aix way back when. Great choice for language acquisition if you are interested in that – fewer Americans knocking around. So it might feel like “real France” - less to see but easy to fall into the rhythm of being there.
Florence is a major tourist destination and for good reason. And you can probably treat your time there like an extended holiday. That could be great, or it could feel like that and be less “authentic.”.
I think this really depends what you want from the experience. Guessing by the OP’s original post date that the decision has been made.
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I spent a year in Aix and have visited Florence several times (the first of which was when I was studying in Aix). If you’re only going to be in one of the places for a semester, then you will probably find the people in Florence warmer (it takes a while for the French to warm up…people in my program found that February-ish was about the time when the thaw started…and we arrived in August).
If you’re hoping to travel on the weekends, it depends on whether you prefer to stay closer-by or go further afield. If you prefer to be within a few hours on the train (or less), I think there are more interesting places within that vicinity from Florence. There are certainly interesting places around Aix, but Provencal towns start looking very similar after a while. But, Aix was a much better location at the time in terms of doing overnight trains to interesting locations (Paris, Barcelona, etc). So if you’re trying to see more of Europe, then Aix has benefits.
Either way, hope you have a fantastic time!
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